The month of September 2020 was huge in so many ways for We Were Inverted. Completing its third full month online, the site is starting to grow, with all new content and many new visitors. It has been such a treat to login and view the site’s stats. It makes me happy to see people coming to the site and its social media accounts. I hope you are all enjoying what I publish. The feedback I’ve gotten has been great, especially from a few of the site’s most recent projects. They’ve been two of the most popular features to appear on the site to date. Here is an overview covering those projects, as well as several others that made up this past month:
Wooden Coaster Relocation Feature - A Month in the Making
By far, the biggest draw of traffic this month was the feature, “Phoenix & the Path it Blazed for Wooden Coaster Relocation.” I reached out to Knoebels about doing some articles long before We Were Inverted was launched. Funny thing is, this article was not among my original ideas. Covid caused some changes to the plan. Still, Knoebels Public Relations Director Stacy Ososkie was more than willing to have me come up and sit down with her to discuss my ideas. What came about has been a hit with everyone, earning hundreds of views in such a short time. With We Were Inverted still so new, I’ll take it!
I extend a big thanks to Knoebels and Ososkie for having me in August. There are numerous others out there too who also helped make this article what it is. Those people are my fellow enthusiasts. Through Facebook groups like Coaster Appreciation Society and Six Flags Great America Junkies, I was able to talk with a number of enthusiasts who shared their stories of riding the coasters featured within the article. Those enthusiasts I would like to thank again, by name (in order of appearance in the article): Deven Mosher, Timothy Brown, Shane Denmark, John Gray, and Bradley Bard.
Summer is Over, as is the Summer of Sam
From some long-time enthusiasts to one who just started her trek into this hobby a few months ago. Flight Crew member, Sam, was featured in a very lengthy and fun interview about the Summer of Sam. For those of you who are new to We Were Inverted, Sam is a good friend of mine. Back when the site launched, she expressed to me that she wanted to try to get over her fear of coasters. The Summer of Sam idea was kicked off early in this site’s existence and was set to chronicle her journey along the way. I wasn’t sure if she was going to take to this hobby, but damn, I think we created a monster!
Be sure to check out her feature length interview, “Q&A: Sam – Summer of Sam Comes to a Close.” Find out how someone who was scared of most coasters only a few months ago, now finds coasters such as El Toro and Alpengeist among her favorites. I’m so proud of her!
Admin Promotion - Coaster Appreciation Society
On September 20, I accepted an administrator role on the Facebook group, Coaster Appreciation Society (CAS). As many of you know through this site and my social media posts, this group has been a massive influence on my launching of We Were Inverted.
For years, I have belonged to several other coaster/amusement park themed groups before joining CAS. Once I did, however, I found the group to be different than the rest. People talked, shared photos, links, ideas, and were kind to each other. I always felt like I was hanging out with friends whenever I popped in, and I still do.
Speaking of friends, that is how I came to know Chris Darling, one of the group’s three admins prior to my invite. If it weren’t for CAS, we may have never met, much less rode some amazing coasters together at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) and Six Flags America (SFA). Our friendship has even led to his inclusion among the Flight Crew.
I am honored that Sam Lindemann, Kevin Roe, and Chris extended me an invite to help assist with this awesome group. If you are reading this and are not a member, please request to join. We’re looking for other like-minded and fun-loving coaster enthusiasts. Things like your credit counts or tenure in this hobby don’t matter.
Do You Collect? New Feature Series to Debut in October
Looking for some fun features to bring to this site, I came up with the idea to do a series focusing on roller coaster and amusement park collectibles. Many enthusiasts grab merch for their favorite rides and/or parks and some have grown quite the collection. Others keep it small, but their collections have sentimental value. In this series, I will touch base with other enthusiasts and let them show and detail their collections with all of us.
My initial plan was to launch this series at the end of September, but I held off. I didn’t want it getting lost among the wooden coaster relocation article and Sam’s interview. This also gives me material to add to the site in the fall and winter months. Be on the look out for this series soon. It will be kicked off with Chance Knight, who you may know from his YouTube channel, Cheapthusiast. We met online a couple of months ago and have become friends. He is also a regular contributor to CAS.
Mission Aborted!
Well, even the best laid plans don’t always work out. If anyone is wondering how the Mission: 32 in 9 turned out… it didn’t. I didn’t even go to the park to attempt it.
If you read the blog, “Upcoming Mission – 32 in 9,” then you know I had the idea to try to ride all 32 seats on Hersheypark’s Skyrush in a single nine hour visit (counting Sweet Start entry). One problem, however. I could not sleep the night before. By time I fell asleep, my alarm went off. I knew it was not in my best interest to try to go to Hersheypark on an hour, maybe two, of sleep. Furthermore, in that condition, attempting to ride one of the world’s most aggressive coasters 32 times would have been a huge task. I sadly aborted the mission. Maybe I’ll try to make it happen another day, maybe I won’t. I wasn’t doing it for any particular reason other than to just say I did it.
Still Coastin' in October
Knoebels & Adventure Park USA
With September now in the books, that does not mean an end to riding coasters. On October 10, Sam, Greg, and I will be heading to Knoebels to land Sam her 50th credit and Greg his 75th, on Phoenix. In order to make that happen, however, Greg needs to pad his credits ever so slightly, so we will be stopping at Adventure Park USA (APUSA) on the way. He’s missing two of the three credits at the park.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Sam and Greg will also be headed back to BGW with me on October 22 where we will once again meet up with Chris. This visit will allow them to experience Apollo’s Chariot, Tempesto, Loch Ness Monster, and if it’s up and running this time, Verbolten. Everyone is looking forward to heading back down.
This time, I’ll be sure to watch out for speed cameras. I got two camera tickets in the mail a couple of days ago – one on I-295 going south through Washington, D.C. for $200. The second, heading north on I-495 in Maryland for $40. The speed infraction was practically the same, but D.C. has always had outrageously high camera ticket fines. Everyone always has always told me that. Well, I found out first hand and even got to compare it to one from my home state.
Hersheypark
There is bound to be a visit to Hersheypark for their Hersheypark in the Dark event. No date has been determined as of yet, but as this set to auto-publish, Sam and I will be headed to Hershey to activate her season pass for 2021. This is the first pass she’s ever bought for any park. She picked the Plus version that will allow her to enter the park for the rest of 2020 as well. I won’t be surprised if we do several Hersheypark in the Dark and/or Christmas Candylane visits before the end of the year.
Thanks for the Support
Thanks for all of your continued support these first three months of We Were Inverted. It’s been amazing watching the site grow and reach new people. Meeting so many other enthusiasts has been amazing. This hobby has become so much more than just me heading to the park with a friend or two, or counting new credits.
